College Sports Blog

Oklahoma football ranked 17th in ‘Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2013’

17. Oklahoma Sooners: The Landry Jones era at OU ended with a thud in the Sooners’ ugly loss to the Aggies at the Cotton Bowl. Now coach Bob Stoops and offensive coordinator Josh Heupel will begin the task of replacing Jones, a record-setting quarterback, who threw for 4,267 yards with 30 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this past season. Sophomore Blake Bell, affectionately known as the Belldozer because of his 6-foot-6, 254-pound frame, is the favorite to win the starting job, but he’ll have to hold off junior Drew Allen and freshmen Trevor Knight and Kendal Thompson. The Sooners also will have to rebuild their defensive line and replace a couple of starters in the secondary. Even after former Arizona coach Mike Stoops took over the defense, it still struggled against high-powered offenses in the Big 12. The Sooners will play some difficult away games next season, with contests at Notre Dame, Kansas State and Oklahoma State, along with their annual showdown against Texas in Dallas.